U.S.

Google Fined $7 Million in Street View Privacy Settlement

Google will be fined $7 million as part of a privacy settlement regarding its Street View car fleet's collection of passwords, messages and other sensitive data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks as it rolled past homes and businesses from 2008 through mid-2010, it was announced Tuesday.

Google has already secured the information and agreed to destroy it without using it in any Google services. It has also taken steps to ensure Street View vehicles will not collect similar information in the future without first getting consumers' consent.

Acknowledging the privacy lapse, Google has also agreed to start a new consumer privacy employee training program and start a national ad campaign educating users on protecting their private information.

“While the $7 million is significant, the importance of this agreement goes beyond financial terms," said Attorney General George Jepsen of Connecticut, which is among 38 states that will split the $7 million fine. "Consumers have a reasonable expectation of privacy. This agreement recognizes those rights and ensures that Google will not use similar tactics in the future to collect personal information without permission from unsuspecting consumers."

A Google spokesperson acknowledged the privacy issue in an apologetic statement while insisting that Google project managers didn't want the data collected in the first place.

"We work hard to get privacy right at Google," said the spokesperson in a statement emailed to Mashable. "But in this case we didn't, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue. The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it. We're pleased to have worked with Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and the other state attorneys general to reach this agreement."

Google has previously said it was collecting network identification data for use in geolocation services but company executives were unaware that personal information was also being grabbed.

Google was previously fined $25,000 for impeding a Federal Communications Commission investigation into the Street View privacy issue, but the FCC said it would not take further enforcement action against the company regarding the situation.

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